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Monday, June 30, 2008

Tuesday the yard boy, otherwise known as my husband, got things looking spiffy around the house. This meant fun in the sprinkler for the kids.

Why stop playing to take a water break?

Hates to lay back in the bathtub but somehow this is okay?!

It seemed like a good idea at the time!

Was it really such a good idea to play in the dirt after playing in the sprinkler?

We had a fun weekend visiting family. The whole family went this time, just for a quick trip 'home'. We drove up on Friday morning and spent some time with my parents. During the kids nap Papa cleaned the sand box out, making him the hero of the day.

We spent the next morning at the park, with ALL of the cousins, and without the camera. Oops! Then went to N's Grandparents house to celebrate his brother's birthday with that side of the family. Again, forgot the camera.

The trip home was a little more eventful than the whole rest of the weekend combined. As I was awakened from a peaceful nap while N drove. To the words, "Oh no!" Rarely good words to hear under normal circumstances. Never pleasant when kids are involved. It seems that Hoss had come up with quite the creative way to keep himself entertained during our two hour drive home.

Warning: If you do not have kids then you might not want to scroll down to view the following photos. If yo do have kids you have already seen it all and this will be just another day in the life of a parent.

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Like “How I Met Your Mother”, only wholesome*. The story of how my husband and I met. *Names have been changed

Our family’s conviction when my brother, sister, and I were growing up was that my siblings and I did not date. The idea was that we would have more of a “courting” relationship with someone that we would consider marrying. Sounds strange, I know. But it sure helped weed out some jerks without all the heartache.

Fortunately for me I met a very sweet guy when I was only 13 years old. His name was *Nick. He was older and it started out, on my part as a silly junior high crush on an older boy. You know how it is.

Nick, in fact, was 7 years older than I. 20 years old back then. His only interest in me was as a friend, actually a mentor of sorts. We met at a church retreat. His father was the guest speaker for our church’s weekend get away. I, as always was the younger sister tagging along with my brother and sister and their fellow high school friends. Nick took pity on me and spent the weekend making sure I had a friend to talk to. When we all went hiking he made sure to include me in conversation. We went down to the creek; Nick took the time to teach me how to skip stones. And when we all parted ways at the end of the weekend, Nick was considerate enough to give me his address when I asked for it.

And so our friendship grew through letters exchanged. As it turned out Nick was a youth pastor and had a wealth of advice for me every time I wrote him, telling him of my latest adolescent woes. There were never any phone calls; we did not have opportunity to meet again, only faithful letters of encouragement between teacher and student. Funny stories shared from one friend to the other for five years. And then, I decided to take the plunge and so I sent Nick a graduation invitation. I was pretty sure he wouldn’t come but on the off chance that he would, I wanted to let him know his was welcome. I might add by this point I was completely smitten. My entire family had become involved. When a letter arrived, they all knew about it. I would shove it in their face to read, whether they wanted to or not, sorry sis. Nick had done very little to encourage my feelings. He had been an absolute gentleman and I am pretty sure still saw me as the scrawny little incoming freshman that I was when we had met. He had mentioned pleasant surprise over a picture I mailed of myself 3 years after we met. He wrote that I had grown into a beautiful young woman. That was enough to keep me going a few more years. Though there was still a 7-year gap between us. Funny how that gap never really closes in. There was a bit of a difference in my mind between a 13 year old developing a relationship with a 20 year old, vs. an 18 year old with a 25 year old. O.K. so it was still a little far fetched but I was still hopeful.

My hope was further validated when Nick wrote to say he would not miss my graduation and requested my phone number. I literally camped out by the phone a couple of days after mailing a letter that included my contact number. I was not disappointed. The phone call came we made plans for his arrival, along with his good friend Carl who would be joining. He called a few more times just to chat and we spent several hours on the phone during the weeks leading up to my graduation. I felt even more hope for a relationship stirring in me, as Nick seemed somewhat interested. And I was giddy with anticipation for his visit and what it might bring. And so I waited.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Something incredibly cool happened among our youth group a few months ago. It was actually before I started blogging and so I have not shared it with my readers yet. It is still on my mind often and I thought it deserved to be written about.

We live in a poorer community. I know I have mentioned before it is a very small town. (About 1700 people) It is also among the 25 poorest counties in the U.S. So I was a little doubtful of the outcome when, Britt, a girl from my husbands youth group called a week before Valentines Day with a “great idea.”

“Let’s see if we can collect canned goods and share it with a needy family for Valentine’s!” She said. “You know since it is all about love, we could share our love with someone that needs it.”

N said “O.K.” and put Britt in charge of it. Britt made an announcement on Sunday, February 10th for people to bring canned goods up to the church if they wanted to give to the family. By Wednesday night my husband had several grocery sacks of food in his office from various individuals. By the following Sunday morning there was a huge box in the foyer full with several more grocery sacks around it. And by Sunday night about an hour and a half before youth group started my husband called me from the church to ask if we had any empty boxes. He said a couple of our Senior guys were going to come by and pick them up because there was so much food and no place to put it.

“Wow, that’s awesome!” I thought.

N called me back a few minutes after the boys picked up the boxes to tell me the whole story. We had three senior boys at that time. All of which had only been coming to youth for a month or two. They had gone around town earlier that day, from door to door, asking for donations for a family in need. They received all kinds of goodies, and some monetary donations as well, adding up to about $100. These three guys took that money twenty miles to the nearest Wal-Mart and bought more “goodies”. Can’t you just see three seventeen-year-old boys shopping for groceries together? It makes me smile every time I think about it. They then went up early to the church to deliver the groceries and package them up for our distribution of them that would take place after youth group that night. N, could not believe how excited and proud these boys were about how much stuff they had gotten. It so blessed N to see it!

I was shocked when I showed up for youth later that night to see the amount of; not only canned goods, but also paper towels, toilet paper, bottled water… all kinds of stuff. It was awesome.

Youth ended and Britt asked if she could make an announcement to get some of the kids to help drop off our gift of love. She stood at the front of the room next to my husband and said, “We’ve known from the beginning when we first started collecting these items, who we wanted it all to go to, all this stuff is for our lovely youth pastor and his wife!”

WE WERE FLOORED! We had no idea that they were doing this for us. You should have seen the looks on those boys’ faces too. They were all, absolutely giddy. We felt so blessed as we were really experiencing a time of need. We were not about to starve or anything but it had just been one of those months when we were wondering how the bills were going to get paid. But what was so much greater than that was the amount of love and acceptance we felt being poured out on us by this youth group. They were all so pleased with themselves.

Most of the kids stayed and helped bring all the groceries over to our house. It looked like even more when we got it into the kitchen and it took me 2 days to sort it and put it all away. Would you believe these boys had done a very thoughtful job in their grocery shopping that afternoon? They did not just go to the store and buy $100 worth of generic stuff. They had picked out, among a whole lot of other things, quite a few items specifically for our children. Juice boxes, animal crackers, oh, I forget what else. One of the boys apparently approached N after youth and apologized if they had gotten too much “junk food” for the kids. How sweet, right!

We were further blessed when our pastor shared with us the next day how this had all come about.

At a prayer meeting the Wednesday night that Britt had called with her bright idea, our pastor had briefly asked the group to be praying for our family. N, also works a full time construction job (which is where a large portion of our paycheck comes from) and his boss did not have any jobs lined up at that time and so N was currently out of work for an unknown amount of time. Britt’s mom came home from the prayer meeting and mentioned it casually to Britt. Britt said, “Well we have to do something then.” So she got on the phone with our pastor to get an o.k. from him on her big scheme and the rest is history. I am humbled, awed, and nearly brought to tears every time I think about the act of love that these kids and our community poured out on us. I was further moved several weeks later when, at a weekend youth retreat I sat in a room among kids sharing their testimony. Those three senior boys were present and every one of them had a similar story to tell, a story of growing up with nothing. A month of rationing nothing but bread between himself and his two sisters was one of the guy’s stories. Another shared about how he had gone to work at a young age to help supplement the family income when his father was not working. They had all experienced need so unlike any I have ever known and yet from this hardship comes the most generous spirit. They had not just seen a need and met it; they had done it with such joy and excitement.

This is most, but not all of the stuff we received. Isn't that Awesome?

I missed 2 days in a row of working out, which I felt very guilty about, because I had a bit of a stomach bug but I am back at it now.

I also went to visit my parents over the weekend, always a good time. My fantastic husband came up with the idea for me to have a weekend off and so he kept the kids at home with him and I got to play, sleep in, and scrapbook for 2 whole days! It was awesome! As is N.

Friday, June 20, 2008

I have often said that I am always learning new things from my children. Here is my most recent lesson.

The VBS Bella is going to offers the opportunity for the children to bring items, i.e. shampoo, conditioner, soap to give to children who have less.

The first day I sent Bella with a bar of soap. The next day I sent her with Shampoo that I had bought for that express purpose the night before. I don't know why I did not think to buy items for her to give for the rest of the week. As the nearest grocery store is more than 20 miles away. So the third day I was looking through all of our bathroom drawers and cabinets trying to find something she could take. I finally just grabbed another bar of soap and decided that would have to do.

On the way out the door I handed Bella the bar of soap. She looked up at me, a lack of understanding shown all over her face, and said, "We already give soap."

Lesson learned from my 3 year old. If you are going to give, give generously!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

I have a guest blogger today, I did not ask him to be a guest blogger so shhh! I just read my dad's blog, or journal, that he does occasionally for his church website. I have been anxious to get my hands on this picture as it is adorable. So when I saw it on Journey Church's website I was gonna nab it. Then I read what my dad had to say about it and LOVED it. So click over to journeychurch.com view the picture and read. It is about my parents 10 grandchildren, ages 7 and under. The Ten Little Indians, as we refer to them. It's pretty cool!

You can't tell real well but the kids all have feather Indian headdresses on.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

A totally humbling if not humiliating moment for me is coming up here.

My sister-in-law, who let me just say, after 5 kids in 6 years is completely gorgeous and in ridiculously good shape, was telling me about a work out video she was doing that, so far she was enjoying. Slim In 6. No this is not a pay per post. Although I wish it was.

I decided to try it too as I have much more to lose than she does even though my youngest is 3 months older than her baby. And I only had 3 kids in the last 3 years. Did I ever mention I loath my sis-in-law?

We thought it would be a great idea to hold each other accountable. Let me tell you that was a great idea. Many nights, (for some crazy reason that is when I find the best time to work out) I just DO NOT want to do my video. But then there is that little voice in the back of my head saying, “But you told Crista you would.” Often times that voice is my husband. Occasionally it is my personal subconscious. More times than not I can’t tell the difference between the two.

This is how the video works. There are three different levels. Obviously you start with the easiest level and work your way up. You work out 6 days a week for 6 weeks and are supposed to see great results. So far I am 2 weeks and 1 day into it. And I have seen some results. Which is scary to admit considering the photo I am about to show you. I use to look even worse. Mind you, I don’t think anyone else would notice the difference it’s made for me yet because it has not been that much. And, I am hoping I measured wrong but so far I seemed to have gained an inch in my stomach so far. Hmm!

So my plan to further motivate myself to keep this up is to blog about it. Lucky you! I will be posting before and after pictures and updating you on my results. Try to contain your excitement.

Now, I was scolded for not warning people before posting pictures of my husband’s nasty thumb wound. Which is healing quite nicely by the way. So I am warning you now. If you have small children you may want to ask them to leave the room. If you have a weak stomach, avert your eyes. If you plan on using these pictures for blackmail, dart board practice, punch lines, etc. I have attached a virus, clicking on the picture to drag, copy or to manipulate in any other way will destroy your computer. You’ve been warned. Let me also say before posting the pictures (and these may all just be stall tactics) that I have worked very hard over the last 20 years or so to dress in a manner that hides my problem areas (you know pretty much ME) and accentuates my better assets. (i.e. my left pinky) Not saying I’ve done a very good job of it but it has been one of my biggest goals in life. Fabulous priorities, I know. So this photo is about to show the world (okay, let’s not get carried away, mom, dad, grandma, husband, and a few bums with nothing better to do… just kidding, please don’t quite reading bums, err, friends.) The not as well covered up side of me. (No, there will not be any nudity.) Here is my before (well 2 weeks into it) photo

Also my measurements when I started. Again, humbling moment.

Waist 27 inches

Hips 37 inches (Ouch, it pains me to admit that, although it wouldn’t take a genius to guess that. I am a Dearinger after all)

Thighs 21 ½ inches

Now 2 weeks later

Waist (apparently) 27 ½ inches - gained ½ inch?? (But was 28 last week.) I am hoping I just measured wrong when I started. I miss my pre baby belly. Though it is so totally worth it.)

Hips 36 ½ - lost ½ an inch (WooHoo!!)

Thighs 21 ½ - Same

I am sure this is of no interest to any of my faithful readers. Please feel free skip over these posts, as they will be appearing at least once a week for the next 4 weeks. This is to keep my motivated. I know if I make it so public I will have to work hard at this.

And FYI, I just started the second video tonight. (Not sure if it was supposed to take me a whole 2 weeks to get through the first but it did, oh well) And Oh My Gosh it was hard! I know Crista warned me but OH MY GOSH!

Next update on Tuesday.

I will be in trouble for this post. My husband hates it when I say mean things about myself. Isn’t that sweet? I think it is! I am also hoping by mentioning how sweet I think it is he will be less upset with me. I love you N! xoxoxoxo

Things were pretty uneventful at McDonald's today... you know, cop wise! However Hoss, who is 13 months old, ate Nine chicken nuggets, some french fries and part of my hamburger. Ever wonder why we call him Hoss?

After lunch we went to our friend Tracy's to swim, the whole group. That is a lot of kids in one pool! We had a fabulous time though. Silly me forgot to take the camera as always. We did not get home until 4. It made for a long day for everyone, especially Bella who went to Vacation Bible School this morning at 8:30. Days without naps are always...um...interesting.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

One of my friends from our McDonald’s playgroup called me today. We didn’t go last week because of Vacation Bible School so Tracy filled me in on all I missed.

You would think that a group of mommies getting together for their little children to play would be an innocent affair, apparently not so with this bunch. I know I have filled you in on some or our excitement over the past few months, we just seem to be stirring up more and more trouble over there at the home of the beloved Happy Meal.

Without going into WAY TOO MUCH detail, let me just leave it at this. After a confrontation between, my friend and another mother at the Play Place, which began over a typical childish conflict between the children. My friends were flipped off through the window. (By the other mother) Were the victims of a stuck out tongue and rear-end wagging through the window (by the other mother’s daughter, wonder where she gets that attitude). And were then invited via hand gestures to come out and fight (again, other mother) Wow!

McDonald’s employee witnesses altercation, tells manager, police are called. (I kid you not, three cop cars showed up) My friends were asked if charges were to be pressed. (Friends said “No.”) Now one of the families may not be returning for our Wednesday playgroup because one of her daughters does not want to go back. Big Bummer! Hopefully they will change their minds. Never knew I would be living on such a wild side hanging out with a couple of gals from story time, but there you have it.

The saga continues tomorrow. Find out what happens next on “As the Slide Spirals”. Dun, dun, duh…

Sunday, June 15, 2008

I've watched this movie many times, it is among one of my very favorites. The scene opens up on a woman's wedding day. There she is in her gown looking up into the eyes of her father as they share a dance. They are both content to dance silently for a few moments before the father asks, "So have you thought yet about the things we will no longer do regularly together?" Before the daughter has had much of a chance to answer he catalogs his own list.

"I've thought about how we will no longer watch 'our show' together on Thursday nights. Who will go eat pizza with me every Tuesday? The sign language we made up to talk to each other..."

The list goes on. The daughter begins to have flash backs as the father is speaking.

Valentines day at the beginning of that year, the last one her father would perform his duty in his single daughter's life. Flowers and a card, a gift, or in this instance a lunch date. Filling a void that he knew would one day be filled by a husband but today he was happy to be that man. She recalled many, many times of laughter shared over the years, moments of shared wisdom and advice. Sweet and patient correction over the years as it was needed.

The bride, now with tears in her eyes, smiles. Her mind races back further to moments she experienced but was too young at the time to remember firsthand. She relies on stories told to her over the years. She was born so tiny that she required extra attention. He father awoke every few hours to place hot water bottles in his infant daughter's bed because she was too tiny to maintain her own body heat.

Just days earlier in a hospital room the mother and father had been given a grim report. The child may not make it. And if by some miracle she did it would be to exist in a vegetative state.

Broken by this news the father returned to the hotel room he occupied during mother and babies' stay in the hospital. He wept and prayed for the life of his child. He had always trusted God and His sovereignty and this time would be no different. Opening his bible in that darkened room. He read the words. "God gave Sarah strength."

Sarah, the name they had given their little girl had come with a promise, a promise of strength. Renewed with strength of his own he returned to the hospital to share the news with his wife. Their trust never wavered from that moment on as over the next few years doctor's reports continued to be negative. He had prayed for his daughter and trusted in a promise with love.

This movie plays only in my head. It loops sweetly through my memory of a very funny, patient, and wise father. Who over the years has made me laugh until I hurt, cried until I laughed, by sweet things he has done for me over the years, and has counseled, encouraged, and disciplined me anytime I have needed it. It is the story of my own father. He remains my hero and one of my very best friends. And I cherish the memories I have to be recalled anytime I need a smile, or an embrace from my sweet daddy!

My daddy and I at a Christmas party at my parents house a few years ago.

Just because he's a fun and crazy man and not many people get to see this side of him. The very "Reverend" Michael Dearinger

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Hi all! We have been very busy the past several days which is the reason I have not spent too much time in the blog world. N's aunt came to visit us over the weekend, and Monday started off with a week of Vacation Bible School at our church. I am teaching a class and my children are attending as well. They have had a blast, I have had a blast! We have all come home in the afternoon completely warn out and ready for a nap! One of my favorite things about VBS has been that every day has it's own little theme and we come dressed accordingly. For instance, Monday was "Tacky Tourist Day".

(I could not find my touristy hat anywhere, Grr!)

Tuesday was "Wacky Hat Day" I did not get a picture of any of us in our hats. I wore the crown my husband made me for Mother's Day!

And today was, my favorite, "Crazy Hair Day"

(The back of Bella's head.)

I did not take the time to fix Hoss' hair(s) as there are only three of them.

Tomorrow is "Pajama Day" and as I am sure you have all seen kids in their pj's, I will most likely not post pictures of that. As adorable a sight as it is. Friday we wear the shirts we decorated today! Fun! Fun! All week long!

Forgive me if I do not make it back on here for a few more days. Next week should be a little quieter! (Please Dear God, let it be!!) And I will be back to my regularly scheduled typing... I think!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

My husband, N, has worked construction for about 8 years with very few injuries, Thank the Lord! 2 days ago he got his thumb caught in a chop saw. Luckily the blade was not going very fast. Had it been he would probably never be able to hitchhike or give one of his kids a thumbs up. Or perhaps it would have been the end to a future career as a movie reviewer. (I guess there's always the other thumb.) Instead it just took a major chunk of flesh and he will be back for a lively game of thumb wars before you know it.

Wish I had thought to take pictures of it right after it happened. This is more than 30 hours later and it is looking much better. But still pretty nasty if you ask me.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

I have been having a heck of a time getting my 13 month old to eat certain foods, most of all green beans. He will not eat them! He and I have gone round and round. Well today I decided, by golly I'm the mommy, I'm in charge, I am going to win this battle! And so after a loooooooooong day of it at 2:30 this afternoon Hoss had about 5 green beans!!!!

I wanted to call my husband and share the news but he is at work and probably should not be disturbed with what our children ate today. I usually try to save those really important, disruptive phone calls for things like, "Whaaaaa, I chewed out a six year old, Whaaaaaa!"

Anyway, so then I wanted to call my mom, who also knew of my green bean struggles. But, alas, she too is at work today. So about an hour later around a bowl of popcorn and juice, I decided to share with Bella the good news! Sure, she's only 3 1/2 but I figure, she's been there for all the tears and fit throwing over green beans, (I know it is very immature of me to throw a fit over uneaten green beans but you don't understand how stubborn he was being) And so I thought maybe she would understand a little bit about how excited I was.

To my surprise when I said, "Oh hey, guess what Bella? Hoss ate green beans this afternoon!" Bella let out a hearty, "WoooHooo!" Ran to pat Hoss on the head and said, "Good Job! I'm so proud of you!"

That was exactly the response I was wanting from someone, as it so expressed how I was feeling! Thanks Bella!!

Be sure to check out Bella's super cute flower girl pictures and the story of how the flower girl stole the bride's thunder in the post below!

My sister-in-law got married this weekend! It was a very pretty wedding and we are very excited for her!

My husband, daughter, and I all got to be a part of the wedding party. N, as a groomsmen, Bella, was a flower girl, and I was a bridesmaid. N and I also sang a duet. I wish I had a recording of it. I would post it here and that alone would be enough to get me plastered all over the front page of Humor-Blogs.com.

Laurel, my sis-in-law looked gorgeous, and Marvin was very handsome. But Bella! Well, Bella, stole the show. She was a little restless already by the time she got to walk down the aisle. She had kept the bride’s wedding party entertained with scary faces in the mirror as we waited for the wedding to start. She panicked every time she heard a male’s voice in the hall outside our “waiting” room since Aunt Laurel had told her we were hiding in there so Uncle Marvin would not see us before the wedding. She was so paranoid with every man’s voice and every knock at the door. Convinced that Uncle Marvin was going to burst through the door at any minute and see his bride too soon.

She dropped her petals on the aisle on the way to the stage like a dutiful flower girl

then promptly began to collect all the petals from the stage that had been purposely scattered there before the wedding and put them into her basket. I stopped her and she came and stood by me. About a minute into the wedding she realized she could not find her brother. Bella knew Buddy was supposed to be sitting with Nana and Papa during the wedding but she hadn’t spied him yet. “Where’s buddy?” She asked in an exaggerated whisper. I shushed her. She moved around a bit, turned around to see behind her. Where she spotted Nana, Papa, Buddy, and Hoss. She notice Papa taking pictures and was sure to pose for the camera. She swung her basket over the gazebo railing so he could get a good shot of it too. She asked a couple of times if she could go stand with Daddy. I, of course, said No. All in all I thought she did fairly well. Nothing was much louder than I loud whisper. She stayed on the stage and on one side or the other of me the whole time until I stepped forward to sing with N.

We sang, “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts. I am so, so frustrated by my performance. I have only sung in front of people a few times and I do not sing real well, in my opinion. My husband and mom say differently but who knows. Nevertheless I am not confident in doing it. But my husband and I had practiced quite a few times and I was feeling okay about it. My voice was shaky at the rehearsal and I didn’t do as well as I had during our private practices but I had hoped that had taken care of the nerves. Instead, my voice shook through the entire song. I have no idea if I was ever on the right note at any point during the song and for a good portion of it I was singing the harmony with N instead of the melody like I was supposed to. At one point I had dared to open my eyes and look at N. He smiled and his eyes shifted downward. There, hugging his leg and looking up at us, was Bella!

I do not know how long she had been standing there watching us but it made me smile. It was such a very sweet moment. She did eventually tire of this as well and began again her quest to clear the stage of all rose petals.

As much as I love Laurel and Marvin I was so glad to see the whole thing end. I was also glad I no longer live there and will not soon have to face all the people I humiliated myself in front of. At least it all made for some good photos! And though I did a terrible job singing a romantic song with my husband. One that has been one of “our songs” for a while now, was awesome. I have always wanted to get to sing with him. He has a beautiful voice.

*Photos were taken by my daddy. I told him I would say something nice about him in my blog for going to the trouble of emailing the pictures to me. So here it goes. Daddy, you are so wise, and handsome, funny, and fun. Your laugh is contagious. Your cooking is delicious. Your smile is bright. Your hugs are warm. You’re kind, charming, gracious, brave, and wonderful. And I love you! Was that good enough?